The Balsillie Papers provides clear, concise, peer-reviewed articles about today’s most complex issues in global governance and international affairs.

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LATEST PAPER

The Paused Continental Defence Bargain: Architecture, Asymmetry and the 2026 CUSMA Joint Review

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Barry Appleton

This paper contends that the pause is the defence-side expression of an integrated US strategy that treats trade, technology and continental security as a single negotiating surface rather than as separate policy domains.

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RECENT PAPERS

Defending Canada’s Information Sovereignty: Aligning with the EU’s Digital Services Act

Marcus Kolga
Just as Canada works with its allies to defend its physical borders and national sovereignty, it must also cooperate with them to protect the integrity and sovereignty of its information space.
PHLAIR project Dawn Commercial Direct Air Capture facility Providing >20,000 tCO2/year Alberta, Canada

Scaling Up Carbon Removal: Policy Challenges and Plausible Future Pathways

Farzana Enam Rasna
This paper explores three plausible future scenarios for scaling Carbon Dioxide Removal (CDR). Rather than predicting specific outcomes, the analysis offers foresight into potential trajectories of global CDR governance and highlights risks and opportunities that could shape more equitable and effective carbon removal strategies.

Enhancing Bill C-8: Strengthening Canada’s Cybersecurity Framework for Critical Infrastructure

Thomas Aaron Gries
Cybersecurity measures are being discussed by the federal government, but gaps in proposed Bill C-8 (an Act respecting cybersecurity) leave vulnerabilities in Canada’s cybersecurity framework unaddressed. Further consideration, or amendment of the bill, should be imperative before seeking Royal Assent.

Whose Law Governs Canadian Data?

The CLOUD Act, Executive Agreements and Digital Sovereignty

SPECIAL REPORT

MARCH 11, 2026

Barry Appleton